This invention relates in general to the installation of thermal insulation in buildings and more particularly to a machine for blowing loose insulation into cavities in building walls, ceilings, and floors.
Thermal insulation for buildings comes in a variety of forms. For example, one can purchase bats of glass fibers that are usually installed between the studs of walls before the walls are enclosed with gypsum board or perhaps between ceiling or floor joints, or even between rafters. Rigid sheets of expanded polymers, such as Strafoam polymar, are also available, and they are usually installed against rough wall surfaces behind a finishing layer. But perhaps the most versatile of all thermal insulations are those which are loose and not attached to any backing. As such, they can be blown into cavities without destroying the finished surfaces of walls and ceilings.
Typical of the loose insulations are glass fiber and rock wool and also certain loose cellulose materials which have been treated to render them fire resistant. The former require blowing equipment so large and heavy that it must remain with the vehicle which transports it to the job site. Loose cellulose insulation requires less bulky equipment, and indeed, some of the equipment is small enough and light enough to be brought into the building where the insulation is to be blown. Even so, this equipment is not easily transported by a single individual and is usually furnished as two components, namely a hopper and a fan, which are assembled at the job site. The hopper, which delivers the loose insulation to an airstream generated by the fan, is in its own right quite heavy and bulky and thus not easily moved about the typical home. Moreover, it includes a rotor which revolves at relatively high speed to prevent the insulation from consolidating in the hopper. This rotor presents a hazard to those who use the machine. Moreover, the operator must couple the fan to the hopper unit, which in itself is a relatively complex procedure in that it requires the manipulation of unfamiliar fittings. The fan, which revolves at extremely high velocity also presents a danger, since it is exposed.
The present invention resides in a machine for directing loose insulation into the cavities of building walls, ceilings, and floors, and includes a hopper and a fan united into a single unit which is light in weight, highly compact, and easily moved about. Moreover, it requires very little skill to operate and as such may be used by the typical home owner, perhaps on rental basis.